Pages

Tuesday, 21 December 2010

Epitaph

So I finally got this finished from the summer....*note to self, never leave a painting unfinished* it really lost me when I went back to it, both the meaning, and where I was actually going with it style wise, PLUS, I lost some detailing of Biro in certain areas from rubbing against other materials during the gap I really struggled with this piece, because I went straight in again from a sketch, so obviously the proportions weren't right, making the same long mistake I made with Erin (which I started roughly around the same time) so it threw me off for a while, until I had the uncontrollable urge to paint again.

Basically, my initial thought for this piece was a representation a graveyard statue worn from time, but remains somewhat alive with her long, vivid red hair flowing and a slight lighter colour to the face, and eye, adding the life to her beautiful, crumbling face. The wing section is inspired by an Art Deco sunburst I once saw around a clock face on the train to London. I used a green background to portray a decaying of sorts, the vivid oxidization you find on some status, and the outer edges are to convey the detailing you would find around a Mausoleum or Gravestone, with bars connected to the figure to represent her trapped state.

Although I'm pleased with the outcome, I still feel it the idea itself hasn't reached it's full potential (such as the sense of 'flow' in her hair, and also the shape/proportion, and a more definitive meaning) so it's quite possibly and idea I'll revisit at a later time, perhaps in 3D :)

2 comments:

Hi Bob, this is a reply to your post on the 19th. It is good to self analyse after a project, however if you having problems understanding the feedback then you should be referring back to your tutors. From what I have read from your post and looking at your designs my thoughts are as follows:1. The term masturbatory possibly refers to the way you have worked on your concepts. Yes it is good to have a personal style but you also need to consider the brief and the audience. This project was about creating a viewer friendly concept, the tutorials you had with Justin gave you the inherent rules to create characters that make it easier for the audience to discern their personality and intentions. This should form a shorthand. Your designs however seem to be designed by Bob for the audience of Bob, the shorthand of the characters is not defined enough to differentiate which role the individual character is taking on. What we can conclude is that your individual style has overpowered the brief.2.The concepts being superficial may relate to the above point but may also tie in with your obsession with surface detail. Form, function and shape has definitely played second fiddle to surface doodlings. From your drawings it seems like you have used stock images/ reference photos to work into. Whilst such resources are useful I also feel that it is possible to abuse them at the expense of actual design, again we return to Justins lecture and how to build these character archetypes from the basic building blocks. Secondly you had ninja/ samurai as a rule set, in your designs I am seeing only very basic visual nods to these ideals. Despite what appears to be some very extensive wiki-research.3. Onto research... this seems very text based ok we need to read somethings, however, you are on a visual design course yet I can see very little visual research on your blog, no images of katanas, shurikens, armour, etc. Drawing on the font of visual research would have grounded your designs into the ninja/samurai background before then pushing into the realm of sci-fi.4.Time management Bob, if you had managed your time better then you would have been able to research better and not used the reference image shortcut. Some people used the excuse of the group project monopolising their time, from what I understand from numerous converstaions your commitment to the group project is also cause for concern so that excuse cannot apply to you. It is extremely irritating having to nag people about application. In terms of finance you cannot buy a degree. Although you are not paying for it now, you will eventually have to pay your student loan back.

Ok thats my feedback on your previous project. The next installment will be the pipeline of character design.

Hi Simon, thanks for the feedback there, I did speak to Alan after the crit, but there were still some aspects that were nagging at me about the style issue, but I think I can see how it might have over powered the initial concept of the brief...I do feel however like I struggled quite a bit to try and incorporate the building of shapes into drawing a figure, which was a new step for me, one that I sadly only started grasping towards the end..

There are a few things i'd have to disagree with however, as I did spend quite a while gathering visual research that fitted both the the sci-fi elements, and ninja/samurai and traditional weapons..but in order to make my blog look more organised I compiled them into Influence Maps.

Also, in regards to the time management issue, I'm pretty sure I didnt mention the narrative project as an excuse ....however, the first 5 weeks of pre-production, I spent a huge amount of time on,... which did soak up alot of my time for character design, somthing I should have evened out more agreeably....however, it sometimes appears people forget that, and judge me solely on my maya work all the time, which always, always suffers because of not actually having maya at home, putting me at somewhat of a disadvantage...and for the record, I am not on this course to 'buy' a degree', im trying to learn, and I do struggle sometimes, which are truths, not excuses.

That aside I appreciate the feedback and would like to hear your opinion on the pipeline

Bio

Currently entering my 3rd Year of CG Arts & Animation, I am a passionately creative individual who is interested in both 2D and 3D as a artistic outlet, and wish to pursue this further as a career. Think of this Blog as a visual representation of my development and progression as an artist.